Was pleasantly surprised to see this in the Atlantic today and wanted to share it. The rest of the article is good as well, so I’d encourage you to read it. Most of the news about elephants is usually bad, so it’s good to hear something nice for a change. Hopefully over times attitudes towards ivory itself will change, which is the best defense for the elephant.

“It’s an unlikely and ambitious government project: Over the next two years, Hong Kong will embark on the world’s largest ivory burn, setting 28 tons of illegally harvested tusks aflame to signal a shift in its valuation of elephants. AsNational Geographic reports, this is actually the latest in a string of public ivory disposals around the world. China crushed six tons of tusks and ivory ornamentson January 6; the United States smashed six tons in November 2013; and the Philippines burned five tons in June 2013, making history as the first “ivory-consuming nation” to destroy almost all of its national stock. Gabon burned its stockpile in June 2012.

By early 2013, terms like “blood ivory” and “African Elephant Crisis” were on the lips of conservationists and politicians alike.